Automatic sewing machines



May 14, 1963 J. A. HERR ETAL- 3,089,441

AUTOMATIC SEWING MACHINES Filed Dec. 9. 1960 7 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS.Jon/v A. HERR and ORNEY ORLAND B. REID W wi l? WITNESS May 14, 11963 J.A. HERR 'ETAL AUTOMATIC SEWING MACHINES 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 9.1960 IRIVENTORS.

m mE RR R u urmB .w m M0 w May 14, 1963 J. A. HERR ETAL 3,089,441

AUTOMATIC SEWING MACHINES Filed Dec. 9. 1960 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORSJOHN A. HERR and WITNESS ORLA ND B. R510 May 14, 1963 J. A. HERR ETALAUTOMATIC SEWING MACHINES 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. 9. 1960 INVENTORS.JOHN A. HERR and s ORLAND B. R510 TTORNE Y co N J. A. HERR ETALAUTOMATIC SEWING MACHINES May 14, 1963 '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec. 9.1960 Fig. 9.

INVENTORS. JOHN A. HERR and ORLAND B. REID WITNESS.

BY 7 M ATTORNEY J. A. HERR ETAL AUTOMATIC SEWING MACHINES 7 Sheets-Sheet6 Filed Dec. 9. 1960 INVENTORS. Jon/v A. HERR and NEY BY ORLAND B. RE/oWITNESS y 1963 J. A. HERR ETAL 3,089,441

AUTOMATIC SEWING MACHINES Filed Dec. 9. 1960 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 INVENTORS.JOHN A. HERR and BY ORLAND B. REID United States Patent 3,089,441AUTQMATIC SEWING MACHINES John A. Herr, Garwood, and Orland Bi. Reid,Kenilworth, NJ., assignors to The Singer Manufacturing Company,Elizabeth, N.J., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Dec. 9, 1966), Ser.No. 74,820 9 Claims. (Cl. 112-2) The present invention relates to sewingmachines and particularly to automatic sewing machines.

The manufacture of garments such, for example, as mens shirts isessentially piece Work. The various pieces of material that are to bemade into a shirt are sewed in a succession of individual sewingoperations into the completed garment. High rates of production areobtained by highly skilled operators using modern sewing machines.However, the work is tedious and the quantity and quality of theproduction is dependent upon the skill of the operator and the skillrequired for competitive production is acquired only after longexperience. Moreover, the operator generally develops maximum skill inonly a single operation and cannot be assigned to a different operationwithout loss of efficiency. Being essentially a straight-line assemblytype of operation, all of the sewing stations must be in operationduring working hours. Since operators cannot be freely transferred fromone operation to another and profficient replacements are not generallyavailable, the absence of any operator can cause considerable hardship.

In the prior United States patent applications of Reid et al., SerialNo. 737,775, filed May 26, 1958, and of Abel et al., Serial No. 698,749,filed November 25, 1957, now Patent No. 2,985,122, granted May 23, 1961,there were disclosed and claimed sewing machines having a loadingmechanism having a conveniently accessible loading position. In thesemachines the operator only loads the work on the loading mechanism andthen initiates operation of the same which thereupon automaticallycycles the loading mechanism and the sewing machine.

In this manner high production of uniformly high quality work can beobtained by a relatively unskilled operator, thus reducing the trainingperiod for new operators and the effect of the temporary absence of anoperator. At the same time, manipulation of the work is minimized,thereby reducing operator fatigue. The present invention relates to animprovement of the above and has for an object to provide such a machinethat is economical, trouble free in operation, and will depen ably andefiiciently produce uniformly high quality work at very high speeds. Afurther object of this invention is to provide simplified andautomatically actuated means for controlling the operation of a sewingmachine in response to the presentation of work thereto.

Briefly, the present invention comprises a work carrying element onwhich the Work is loaded and held by a clamp means, means forautomatically moving the element from the loading position to a positionin which the work is presented to the sewing machine and then back tothe loading position where it is stopped, together with means forautomatically releasing the clamp means when the work carrying elementis in the work presenting position and means for automaticallyinitiating operation of the sewing machine which thereafterautomatically stops at the completion of the sewing operation.

Having in mind the above and other objects that will be evident from anunderstanding of this disclosure, the invention comprises the devices,combinations and arrangements of parts as illustrated in the presentlypreferred embodiment of the invention which is hereinafter set forth insuch detail as to enable those skilled in the art readily to understandthe function, operation,

3,089,441 Patented May 14, 1963 construction and advantages of it whenread in conjunction with the acompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a machine in accordance with thisinvention.

FIG. 2 is a detail sectional view taken substantially on the line 22 ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary front elevational view, partly in section, ofthe machine of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on the line4-4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary top plan view similar to FIG. 1 but on anenlarged scale and illustrating the loading portion of the machine ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a detail sectional view taken substantially on the line 6-6 ofFIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of the trolley which for-ms apart of the traverse mechanism.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on the line'8--8 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view illustrating a portionof the bed of the sewing machine in top plan.

.FIG. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on the lineaw -10 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on the line1111 of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 12 and 13 are perspective views of a sample of work illustrating asewing operation that the present machine is designed to perform, FIG.12 illustrating the work as loaded into the machine and FIG. 13illustrating the work as it emerges from the machine.

With reference to the drawings, FIGS. 12 and 13, the illustrated work Wis a shirt cuff in .an intermediate stage in manufacture. The cuff Wcomprises a facing 1 and an interlining 2 which are substantiallycongruent except that the facing 1 is wider than the inter-lining 2. Thefacing 1 and interlining 2 are loaded into the machine flat, asillustrated in FIG. 12, with the side edges 3 and 4 and the free edge 5of the facing 11 aligned respectively with the corresponding edges ofthe interlining 2, and the rear edge 6 of the facing l overhanging therear edge 7 of the interlining by an amount equal to the difference inthe width of the facing and interlining to define a margin portion 8 ofthe facing. In the operation of the machine the margin portion 8 isunderfolded about the rear edge 7 of the interlining and is stitcheddown by a line of stitches 9. In subsequent sewing operations, a backingis added, the three plies of the cufi are stitched together by a contoursewing operation along the edges 3, 4 and 5, the cuff is inverted andsewed along the same three edges by a second or finish contour sewingoperation, and finally it is attached to a shirt.

As illustrated in the drawings, the machine for performing thisoperation includes a support comprising an L-shaped table top 10 havingan elongated first portion 11 and a short second portion 12. In theusual manner the top 10 is preferably wooden and is supported upon astructure including a pair of legs 13 arranged transversely of the longportion 1 1 of the table top 10 at the free end thereof and two opposedpairs of legs 14 and 15, the pair of legs 14 being arrangedlongitudinally of the long portion 11 of the table top to at the endopposite from the pair of legs 13, and the pair of legs 15 beingarranged parallel to the pairof legs 14 at the free end of the shortportion 12 of the table top 10.

Mounted on the short portion 12 of the table top 10 is a sewing machine16 which, as determined by the desired sewing operation, is in theillustrated embodiment a single-needle high-speed industrial lock stitchmachine, the illustrated machine being a Singer class 251 machine.Generally, the sewing machine 16 includes a frame com prising a bed,having a bed plate 17, from the one end of which rises the standard 18carrying a bracket arm 19 that terminates in a head 20. A needle bar 21,FIG. 2, is mounted in the head 20 for endwise movement and carries aneedle 22 at its lower end. At the point of stitch formation, the bedplate 17 has a throat plate 23. The sewing machine 16 is provided withthe usual feeding mechanism operating through the throat plate 23 toadvance the work past the point of stitch formation. The work is helddown against the throat plate 28 and in engagement with the feedmechanism by a presser foot 25 carried upon the lower end of a presserbar 26 mounted in the head 20 and biased downwardly toward the throatplate 23.

The presser bar 26 is adapted to be raised to lift the presser foot 25from the throat plate in the usual manner by a presser lifter lever 27pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on a pivot stud 28 at the backof the bracket arm 19. The lever 27 is pivoted to raise the presser foot25 by means of a pull rod 29 that is adapted to be connected, forexample, in the manner shown in United States Patent No. 2,250,992, to apush rod 30, FIG. 4. A rock shaft 31 is journaled in lugs 32 dependingfrom the bottom of the bed reservoir 33 of the sewing machine 16. Therock shaft 31 has a laterally extending crank arm 34 that engages andactuates the push rod 30. For actuating the rock shaft 31, there ismounted thereon a crank arm 35 connected at its free end to one end of achain 36 that runs over an idler pulley 37 journaled in a bracket 38that is mounted on the bottom of the portion 12 of the table top 10. Theother end of the chain 36 is connected to a solenoid 39 mounted on across brace 40 of the pair of legs 15. When the solenoid 39 isenergized, the chain 36 is pulled to turn the shaft 31 and to raise thepresser foot 25. When the solenoid 39 is deenergized, the parts arespring returned to their normal operative relation. A switch 41 issecured to the bed reservoir 33 and is adapted to be actuated by aswitch arm 42 mounted on the rock shaft 31 whereby the switch 41 isactuated when the presser lifter mechanism is actuated.

A double solenoid controlled electric power transmitter 43 is connectedby a belt 44 to the sewing machine 16 for driving the same. Thetransmitter '43 is substantially as disclosed in the United Statespatent of Turner et al. No. 2,860,748, November 18, 1958. Thetransmitter is mounted upon a pair of spaced parallel tubular crossbraces 45 extending between the pairs of legs 14 and 15. Generally, thetransmitter 43 includes an electric motor 46 having a double actingsolenoid 47 mounted upon the casing thereof. The solenoid 47 isconnected to a lever 48 that controls the clutch and brake mechanism ofthe transmitter. The solenoid 47 includes a brake solenoid 49 and aclutch solenoid 50. When the clutch solenoid 50 is energized, the lever48 is pivoted to clutch the driving pulley 51 on the shaft 52 of thetransmitter 43 to the fly wheel of the motor 46, thus driving the sewingmachine. When the brake solenoid 49 is energized, the lever 48 ispivoted to actuate the brake mechanism, thus bringing the shaft 52 to astop and stopping the machine. For actuating the sewing machine 16manually independently of the cycle, there is provided a rod 53journaled in a bracket 54 mounted on the underside of the portion 12 ofthe table top 10. On the one end of the rod 53 there is a knob 55 bymeans of which the operator can easily turn the same and on the otherend is a depending bent end 56 that is adapted to engage the lever 48and to move it in the direction to render the clutch mechanism of thetransmitter effective.

To assist in feeding the work past the point of stitch formation of thesewing machine 16 there is a puller feed mechanism 57 mounted on theportion 12 of the table top behind the sewing machine 16. The pullerfeed mechanism 57 includes an upper feed roller 58 and a lower feedroller 59, the rollers being mounted respectively upon an upper feedroller shaft 60 and a lower feed roller shaft 61. The shafts 60 and 61are journaled for rotation in a bracket 62 and are connected together bygears 63 for unitary rotation. The upper feed roller shaft 60 isconnected by a clutch 64 with the driving shaft 65 of a variable speedratio control mechanism 66 having a driven shaft 67. A pulley 68 ismounted upon the shaft 67 and is connected by a belt 69 with a pulley 70on the shaft 52 of the transmitter 43. For appearance as well as safety,a sheet metal cover plate 71 may be placed over the puller feedmechanism, as illustrated in FIG. 1.

Referring more particularly to FIGS. 1 and 5, a mounting plate 72 issecured to the portion 11 of the table top 10 along and overhanging theinside edge 73 thereof and extending from adjacent to the free edge ofthe portion 11 of the table top 10 to beyond the inside edge 74 of theportion 12. The plate 72 has a slot 75 formed therein and arrangedlongitudinally of the plate parallel to the edge 73 of the table top 10,the slot 75 being defined by parallel longitudinal edges 76 and 77, anedge 78 adjacent to the free end of the portion 11 of the table .top 19and an edge 79 at the end adjacent to the sewing machine 16. Thelongitudinal edges 76 and 77 are under cut or rabbeted, FIG. 8, and areprovided with underlying strips 80 that define grooves or tracks 81.

There is provided a work carrying element 82, which for brevity ishereinafter designated a trolley, FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, comprising a fiatplate having a substantially rectangular portion 83 and a forwardlyextending arm 84. The trolley 82 has an undercut 85 in each of the fourcorners of the portion 83 for accommodating a roller 86 the periphery ofwhich extends beyond the sides of the portion 83. The rollers 86 arejournaled in the trolley 82 and run in the tracks 81 for mounting thetrolley on the plate 72 for traveling freely along the slot 75.

Mounted on the underside of the mounting plate 72 adjacent to the freeend of the portion 11 of the table 10 is a reversible electric motor 87which, through a reduction unit 88, drives a shaft 89 on which ismounted a drum 90. A driving cord 91 has the ends thereof secured to thedrum by a plate 92. The cord 91 is arranged substantially centrallylongitudinally of the slot 75 and at the end of the slot is entrainedabout a pulley 93, FIG. 11, carried by a bracket 94 secured to theunderside of the mounting plate 72. An intermediate portion of the upperrun of the cord 91 extends loosely through downturned arms 95 of abracket 96, FIG. 7, secured by screws 97 to the underside of the trolley82. On opposite sides of and in spaced relation to the arms 95, thereare secured on the cord 91 collars 98. Springs 99 are disposed betweenthe collars 98 and the arms 95. A sufiicient number of turns of the cord91 are wound around the drum 90 to provide for turning the drum in onedirection to move the trolley 82 from one end of the slot 75 to theother and to reverse the same to move the trolley back to its startingposition.

A cover plate 100 is secured to the top of the mounting plate 72 overthe drum 90 and the end of the slot 75. The cover plate 100 is adaptedto be engaged by the end of the trolley to position the trolley in itsloading position. A cushioning material 101 is preferably mounted onthat portion of the stop plate 100 that is engaged by the trolley. Atthe opposite end of the slot 75, the end of the portion 83 of thetrolley is adapted to engage the edge 79 which serves as a stop. Themounting plate 72 is at this point provided with a slot 102, FIGS. 1 and9, parallel to the slot 75 and adapted to accommodate the arm 94 of thetrolley which extends forward the point of stitch formation of thesewing machine 16.

Mounted on the top of the trolley 82 is a Work supporting plate 103 thatis secured to the portion 83 and to the arm 84 by screws 104. Alsomounted on the top of the trolley 82 there is provided work securingmeans comprising a bracket 105 having at each end a pair of upstandingears 106 through each pair of which extends a pivot screw 107. A bar 108is provided with downturned ends 109 that are pivotally mounted on thescrews 107. Adjacent to each end of the bar 108 is a work securingfinger 110 which, upon pivotal movement of the bar 108 about the screws.197, is adapted to move down into work clamping engagement with thework supporting plate 103. Springs 111, FIGS. 5 and 6, are coiled aboutthe pivot screws 167 and have the ends thereof engaged with the bracket105 and the bar 108 to bias the fingers 110 into work clamping position.

For holding the fingers 11) out of work clamping position against theaction of the springs 111, there is provided a latch 112, FIG. 8,pivotally mounted by a pivot screw 113 on an arm 114 extending from thebracket 105 and having a catch 115 adapted to engage the bar 108. Aspring 112a biases'the latch 112 into latching engagement. The latch 112is released by a link 1.16 pivotally connected at one end to a lever 117that is pivotally mounted by a bracket 118 on the underside of themounting plate 72. The link 116 extends upwardly through a hole 11 inthe mounting plate 72 and has a laterally extending end 126 thatoverlies a rearwardly extending arm 121 on the latch 112 when thetrolley is in the loading position, i.e., when against the end of theplate 160. The lever 117 is pivoted by a knee shift device comprising aknee pad 122, FIG. 3, on an angle rod 123 that is mounted on a shaft 124journaled beneath the table portion 11 by brackets 125, FIG. 8. Theshaft 124 also carries an angle rod 126 having an end overlying thelever 117 so that when the shaft 124 is turned by pressure appliedagainst the knee pad 122, the forward portion of the lever 117 isdepressed to move the pull rod 116 downwardly, thus releasing the latch112. The lever 117 is biased into a normal position by a tension spring127 secured at one end to the lever and. at the other end to a bracket12-8 mounted on the underside of the table portion 11. The normalposition of the lever is determined by the engagement of a bracket 129on the forward end of the arm against the strip 80. The bracket 129 alsocarries a pin 130 extending upwardly through an aperture in the mountingplate 72 and serving as a retractible work guide that aids in locatingthe work and is then withdrawn below the mounting plate when the cyclingis initiated. The lever 117 carries a start switch 131 that engages theunderside of the mounting plate 72 in the final movement under theaction of pressure applied to the knee pad 122, which switch initiatescycling of the machine.

A plate 132 is provided on the mounting plate 72 to support and guidethe link 116.

A sheet metal guide 133 is provided which, at the end adjacent to theloading position, is L-shaped and includes a bottom horizontal worksupporting flange having an upper or work supporting surface in theplane of the work supporting surface of the plate 103 and a verticalguide flange against which the rear edge of the workabuts. The guide 133extends from the loading position to and beyond the point of stitchformation of the sewing machine 16. From a point intermediate its endsto the end adjacent to the sewing machine 16, the guide 133 is providedwith a top horizontal flange and is thus U-shaped, with the top andbottom horizontal flanges converging toward the end adjacent to thesewing machine 16. At the end adjacent to the loading position, theguide 133 is adjustably supported by a bracket 134 carried by a plate135 that is secured to the mounting plate 72. At its opposite end. theguide 133 is supported by a bracket 136 secured to the bed 17 of thesewing machine 16 and carrying an extensible arm 137 to which the guide133 is secured.

Also at the loading position, there is provided a guide plate 138adjustably secured to the mounting plate 72 and having an upstandingguide flange 139. The guide flange 139, together with the guide 133 andpin 130,

serves to locate the work when it is loaded onto the trolley '82; theflange 13 and guide 133 position it transversely of the trolley 82 andthe pin positions it longitudinally of the trolley. The guide flange 139and guide 133 are adjustable to vary the distance between them anthereby provide for cuffs of different widths.

At the end of the slot 75 adjacent to the sewing machine 16, there isprovided mechanism for raising the work holding fingers 110 and therebyreleasing the work from the trolley. This mechanism, which is shownparticularly in FIG. 11, comprises a solenoid 140 mounted on the top ofthe table portion 11 and is connected to .a slide bar 141 mounted forendwise sliding in a bracket 142 on the mounting plate 72. The bar 141is biased to the right as seen in FIG. 11 by a tension spring 143 and ismoved to the left upon energization of the solenoid 140. The forward endof the bar 141 is turned down to form a flange 144 that is adapted toengage a finger 145 upstanding from the bar 108. Thus, when the solenoid140 is energized, the bar 141 is moved to the left and the flange 144engages the finger 145 to pivot the bar 108 about the axis of the pivotscrews 107, thereby raising the work holding fingers 110. As the bar 108is pivoted, the latch 112 rides over the top thereof until the detent115 engages over the edge of the bar 108, thus latching the work holdingclamp in the open position. The solenoid 140 and the relating mechanismis preferably enclosed by a cover plate 146. The slide bar 141 alsocarries a switch actuator 147 that engages and closes a switch 148 inthe final portion of the stroke under the action of the solenoid 140.The switch 148 controls the presser lifter solenoid 3%.

On the underside of the trolley 82, FIG. 7, there is mounted a switchactuator 149 having a first end 150 that is adapted to engage the triparm of a switch 151 mounted on the underside of the plate 72 near thesewing machine 16 and a second end 152 that is adapted to engage thetrip arm of a second switch 153.

For underfolding the margin portion 8 of the cuff facing 1 as it ismoved from the loading position to the sewing position by the trolley 82there is provided a foldingguide 154 formed over the front edge of themounting plate 72 and supported at its opposite ends by brackets 155 and156. A separator blade 157 is positioned on the top of the plate 72within the folding guide 154. The folding guide 154, FIGS. 2 and 9,terminates at the edge of the bed plate 17 of the sewing machine 16 andthe separator blade 157 continues beyond the same for a short distanceto overhang the edge of the bed plate which at this point is tapered asat 158 to form a smooth continuation of the bottom surface of thefolding guide 154.

A 'wire finger 159, FIGS. 9 and 10, overlies the free end of theseparator blade 157 to smooth and align the work as it emerges from thefolding guide 154 and passes over the free end of the blade 157. Toprovide for raising the'finger 159 when work is presented to the machineby the trolley 82, it is mounted on a lever 160 that is pivotallymounted at its end on a horizontal axis by a pivot screw 161 on abracket 162 that is secured to the bed plate 17 of the sewing machine. Asolenoid 163 is mounted on the underside of the table portion 12 and hasan aperture 164 extending upwardly through a bushing 165 received withina bore 166 in the table portion 12 and is connected to an intermediateportion of the lever 160 by one of the screws 167 that secure the finger159 to the lever 160. A compression spring 168 surrounds the ar-mature164 between the lever 160 and the top of the bushing 165. A secondspring 169 biases the lever downwardly into operative position, thespring 169 being mounted on a stud 170 extending upwardly from thebracket 162 loosely through an aperture .in the lever 160. The spring169 acts between the top of the lever 160 and a nut 171 threaded on thefree end of the stud. When the solenoid 163 is energized, the lever .160

7 is raised to lift the finger 159 away from the separator plate 157 asseen in FIG. 10. When the solenoid 163 is deenergized, the finger 159 isresiliently held in operative position relatively to the plate 157 bythe spring 169.

Also provided on the bed plate 17 of the sewing machine is an edge guide172 that constitutes a smooth continuation of the edge of the guide 154for controlling the folded edge of the work. The guide 172 is carried bya rearwardly extending arm 173 adjustably secured by screws 174 to aplate 175 that is in turn secured by screws 176 to the bed plate 17. Theguide 172 is arranged parallel to the line of scam formation and has alower edge, FIG. 2, that conforms to the work support ing surface of thebed plate 17 including the bevel 158. There is further provided a lightleaf spring 177 carried by a bracket 178 that is mounted on the arm 173by one of the screws 174. The spring 177 is parallel to the guide 172and is disposed between the guide 172 and the presser foot 25 and servesto apply a light pressure to the folded edge of the work for holding itdown against the throat plate 23.

The operation of the sewing machine 16 is controlled by an electric eye178, FIG. 2, comprising a photo electric cell 179 disposed on theunderside of the bed plate 17 immediately in front of the point ofstitch formation defined by the needle 22. The cell 179 is carried by asupport 180 secured by screws 181 on the underside of the bed plate 17.Cooperating with the cell 179 is a source of light comprising a lightbulb 182, a socket 183 carried by a bracket 184 that is in turn mountedon the bracket 162. The mounting of the bracket 184 is designed tolocate the bulb 182 directly above and focused on the photo electriccell 179 and to provide for swinging the same to a position to renderthe socket 184 and bulb 182 readily accessible. This mounting comprisesa flange 185 pivotally mounted on the bracket 162 by a pivot screw 186.The bracket 184 is held with the light in operative position by a spring187 secured on the bracket 162 and having a detent portion 188 adaptedto seat in a notch in the edge of the flange 185. A stop 189 determinesthe operative position.

As the work leaves the sewing machine 16, it passes over a plate 190,FIG. 1, having an upstanding edge guiding flange 191 that forms acontinuation of the edge guide 172. The puller feed mechanism 57advances the work across the plate 190 and discharges it into a chute192, FIGS. 3 and 4, which returns it to a point adjacent to theoperator.

A counter 193 is mounted on the plate 72 and is advanced one number uponeach cycling of the machine, thus providing a record of the number ofarticles sewed and thereby indicating when the bobbin of the sewingmachine 16 is substantially exhausted and should be replenished.

The electrical components of the machine, other than those heretoforeidentified and a master on-off switch 194, are disposed in a control box195 mounted on the underside of the table portion 11.

The operation or cycling of the machine is as follows: The operator isseated facing the table portion 11 with the sewing machine at the rightand directly in front of the loading position which is defined by thetrolley 82 in the left hand position as in FIGS. 1 and 5. The workpieces are loaded onto the trolley 82 with the front and rear edgesthereof positioned by the guide 133 and flange 139 and the leading edgethereof positioned by the pin 130. When the operator is satisfied thatthe work is properly located on the trolley 82, the knee pad 122 ispressed, thereby tilting the lever 117 to lower the pin 130, to releasethe work clamping fingers 110, and finally, to actuate the start switch131. The start switch 131 initiates operation of the motor 87 to advancethe trolley 82 from the loading position toward the sewing machine 16.The trolley 82 travels into a positive stop position determined by theengagement of the end against the edge 79, the unit 88 having built intoit an over-running clutch. Toward the end of this operation, the switch151 is actuated to deenergize the motor 87 and to energize the solenoid140. Actuation of the solenoid lifts and resets the Workholding fingers110, thus releasing the work, and in the final movements, closes theswitch 148 closing the switch 148 deenergized solenoid 140 and alsodeenergizes the presser lifter solenoid 39, thereby lowering the presserfoot 25 onto the newly presented work. After the presser foot 25 islowered, the switch 41 is actuated to reverse the motor 87 and therebyreturn the trolley 82 to the loading position. The trolley 82, upon itsreturn movement, actuates the switch 153 to terminate operation of themotor 87 with the trolley in the loading position. When the work waspresented to the sewing machine 16, it passed between the photo electriccell 179 and the light 182 which, through a relay and in series with thepresser lifter actuated switch 41, energizes the clutch solenoid 49 anddeenergized the brake solenoid 50 of the transmitter 43 to initiateoperation of the sewing machine. Upon completion of the sewingoperation, the work passes from between the cell 179 and light 182,thereby actuating the solenoids 49 and 50 to terminate the sewingoperation and also to energize the solenoid 39 to raise the presser foot25.

Numerous alterations of the structure herein disclosed will suggestthemselves to those skilled in the art. However, it is to be understoodthat the present disclosure relates to a preferred embodiment of myinvention which is for purposes of illustration only and not to beconstrued as a limitation of the invention. All such modifications whichdo not depart from the spirit of the invention are intended to beincluded within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the nature of the invention, what we claim hereinis:

1. In combination, a sewing machine having stitch forming mechanismdefining a point of stitch formation and feeding mechanism for advancingwork past the point of stitch formation, a loading mechanism comprisinga work carrying element, means mounting said element for movementbetween a loading position wherein work to be sewed is loaded onto saidelement and a work presenting position wherein said element presents thework to said sewing machine, drive means for moving said element forwardfrom said loading position to said work presenting position and formoving said element in reverse from said work presenting position tosaid loading position, means for releasably securing work to saidelement, operator actuated means for closing said work securing meansand for initiating forward actuation of said drive means, means forautomatically terminating forward actuation of said drive means withsaid element in the work presentation position, for opening said worksecuring means, and for initiating operation of said sewing machine andreverse actuation of said drive means, means for automaticallyterminating reverse actuation of said drive means with said element inloading position, and means for automatically terminating operation ofsaid sewing machine at the completion of the sewing operation.

2. The combination of claim 1 in which said work carrying elementcomprises a plate upon which work is placed and said work securing meanscomprises a work clamping finger pivotally mounted on said plate, meansfor biasing said finger into work clamping engagement with said plate,and a releasable latch means for holding said finger out of workclamping engagement.

3. The combination of claim 1 in which said drive means for moving saidwork carrying element includes a reversible motor and said operatoractuated means for closing said work securing means and for initiatingforward actuation of said drive means comprises a lever, operatoractuated means for pivoting said lever, means actuated by said lever forclosing said work securing means, and means responsive to the continuedmovement of said lever after closing of said work securing means forinitiating forward actuation of said drive means.

4. The combination of claim 3 having guide means for positioning theWork laterally on said work carrying element and a retractible guidemeans carried by said lever for positioning the work endwise on saidWork carrying element and adapted to be moved out of the path of saidelement upon pivotal movement of said lever.

5. In combination, a sewing machine having stitch forming mechanismdefining a point of stitch formation, feeding mechanism for advancingwork past the point of stitch formation, a presser mechanism for holdingwork in engagement with said feeding mechanism, and a presser liftermechanism, a loading mechanism, comprising a work carrying element,means mounting said element for movement between a loading positionwherein work to be sewed is loaded into said element and a workpresenting position wherein said element presents the work to saidsewing machine, drive means for moving said element forward from saidloading position to said Work presenting position and for moving saidelement in reverse from said work presenting position to said loadingposition, means for releasably securing work to said element, operatoractuated means for closing said work securing means and for initiatingforward actuation of said drive means, means for automaticallyterminating forward actuation of said drive means with said element inwork presenting position and for opening said work securing means, meansfor automatically actuating said presser lifter mechanism to lower saidpresser mechanism when said work securing means is opened, means forautomatically initiating reverse actuation of said drive means andoperation of said sewing machine upon lowering of said pressermechanism, means for automatically terminating reverse actuation of saiddrive means with said element in loading position, and means forautomatically terminating operation of said sewing machine at thecompletion of the sewing operation.

6. In combination, a sewing machine having stitch forming mechanismdefining a point of stitch formation, feeding mechanism for advancingWork past the point of stitch formation, a presser mechanism for holdingwork in engagement with said feeding mechanism, and a presser liftermechanism, a loading mechanism comprising a work carrying element, meansmounting said element for movement between a loading position whereinwork to be sewed is loaded onto said element and a work presentingposition wherein said element presents the Work to said sewing machine,reversible drive means for moving said element forward from said loadingposition to said work presenting position and for moving said element inreverse from said work presenting position to said loading position,means for releasably securing work to said element, operator actuatedmeans for closing said work securing means and for initiating forwardactuation of said drive means, means for automatically terminatingforward actuation of said drive means with said element in the workpresenting position, for opening said work securing means, for actuatingsaid presser lifter mechanism to lower said presser mechanism, and forinitiating operation of said sewing machine, and reverse actuation ofsaid drive means, means for automatically terminating reverse actuationof said drive means with said element in loading position, and means forautomatically terminating operation of said sewing machine and foractuating said presser lifter mechanism to raise said presser mechanismat the completion of the sewing operation.

7. The combination of claim 6 in which said work carrying elementcomprises a plate upon which work is placed, said work securing meanscomprises a work clamping finger pivotally mounted on said plate, meansfor biasing said finger into work clamping engagement with said plate,releasable latch means for holding said finger out of Work clampingengagement, said operator actuated means comprises a lever for releasingsaid latch for closing said work securing means and thereafterinitiating forward actuation of said drive means, and said means forautomatically opening said work securing means when said element is inwork presenting position automatically resets said latch to hold saidwork clamping means in open position.

8. The combination of claim 7 in which said drive means for said workcarrying element comprises a reversible electric motor, said sewingmachine, presser lifter mechanism, and means for opening said worksecuring means are actuated by solenoids, and said means for initiatingand terminating operation of said motor, sewing machine, presser liftermechanism, and means for opening said work securing means areelectrically operated.

9. The combination of claim 8 in which the operation of said sewingmachine is controlled by a photo electric cell positioned adjacent tothe point of stitch formation of said sewing machine and adapted toeifect operation of said sewing machine upon the presence of work at thepoint of stitch formation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,243,679 Allen Oct. 23, 1917 2,483,138 Helmer Sept. 27, 1949 2,882,847Winz Apr. 21, 1959 2,899,919 Myska Aug. 18, 1959 2,944,496 Gardner July12, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,086,980 Germany Aug. 11, 1960

1. IN COMBINATION, A SEWING MACHINE HAVING STITCH FORMING MECHANISMDEFINING A POINT OF STITCH FORMATION AND FEEDING MECHANISM FOR ADVANCINGWORK PAST THE POINT OF STITCH FORMATION, A LOADING MECHANISM COMPRISINGA WORK CARRYING ELEMENT, MEANS MOUNTING SAID ELEMENT FOR MOVEMENTBETWEEN A LOADING POSITION WHEREIN WORK TO BE SEWED ISLOADED ONTO SAIDELEMENT AND A WORK PRESENTING POSITION WHEREIN SAID ELEMENT PRESENTS THEWORK TO SAID SEWING MACHINE, DRIVE MEANS FOR MOVING SAID ELEMENT FORWARDFROM SAID LOADING POSITION TO SAID WORK PRESENTING POSITION AND FORMOVING SAID ELEMENT IN REVERSE FROM SAID WORK PRESENTING POSITION TOSAID LOADING POSITION, MEANS FOR RELEASABLY SECURING WORK TO SAIDELEMENT, OPERATOR ACTUATED MEANS FOR CLOSING SAID WORK SECURING MEANSAND FOR INIATING FORWARD ACTUATION OF SAID DRIVE MEANS, MEANS FORAUTOMATICALLY TERMINATING FORWARD ACTUATION OF SAID DRIVE MEANS WITHSAID ELEMENT IN THE WORK PRESENTATION POSITION, FOR OPENING SAID WORKSECURING MEANS, AND FOR INIATING OPERATION OF SAID SEWING MACHINE ANDREVERSE ACTUATION OF SAID DRIVE MEANS, MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLYTERMINATING REVERSE ACTUATION OF SAID DRIVE MEANS WITH SAI ELEMENT INLOADING POSITION AND MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY TERMINATING OPERATION OFSAID SEWING MACHINE AT THE COMPLETION OF THE SEWING OPERATION.